Urban transport news – Page 225
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Metro Report InternationalAir taxi trials to take place in Singapore
SINGAPORE: Aerial vehicle developer Volocopter is to test its ‘multicopter’ taxis in Singapore next year. A series of tests in the second half of 2019 would validate and verify the ability of the company’s eVTOL vehicles to operate in the city’s urban environment. The tests would include passenger-carrying flights. ...
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Metro Report InternationalNewcastle tram testing begins
AUSTRALIA: Powered testing started on the tram route in Newcastle on the night of October 22-23. Daytime testing is expected to commence in the coming weeks, with opening of the 2·6 km route between Wickham and Pacific Park scheduled for early 2019. The first tram arrived last month. ...
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Metro Report InternationalTianjin metro Line 5 opens
CHINA: Tianjin metro Line 5 began trial operations on October 22. Services operate between 6.00 and 23.40 every 6 min in the peaks and 7 to 8 min off-peak. The 35 km underground route runs from Danhebeidao in the north to Zhongyiyifuyuan in the south, serving 26 stations including ...
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Metro Report InternationalAstra Vagoane to supply trams to two Romanian cities
ROMANIA: A financing agreement for the purchase of 10 trams for Oradea was signed on October 19. Sole bidder Astra Vagoane Călători Arad is to supply 10 trams under an 88·8m lei contract that includes options for 10 more. Four trams are to be delivered by October ...
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NewsSecond phase of driverless metro line opens in Istanbul
TURKEY: The second phase of the driverless metro Line M5 on the Asian side of Istanbul was inaugurated on October 21 with a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mayor Mevlüt Uysal. The 9·5 km eastern extension adds seven stations between Yamanevler and Çekmeköy-Sancaktepe. The initial 10·5 ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutomating payments for concessionary journeys
UK: Fujitsu subsidiary Applied Card Technologies has launched an automated service designed to streamline the process of reimbursing transport operators for journeys made using transport authorities’ concessionary travel schemes. ACT said more than 12 million people in the UK receive free travel under government-funded concessionary travel schemes, with the transport ...
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NewsGrand Paris Line 16 construction contract awarded
FRANCE: A €718·8m contract to build the eastern section Grand Paris Express automated metro Line 16 has been awarded to Salini Impregilo, Societé du Grand Paris announced on October 19. The Lot 2 contract covers the excavation of 11·1 km of tunnel, running from the junction for the Aulnay depot ...
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Metro Report InternationalSagrada Família to fund Barcelona transport improvements
SPAIN: Barcelona city council and the Sagrada Família have signed an agreement which will see a package of transport improvements funded by the organisation building the famous church designed by Antoni Gaudí. Part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, the church attracts 20 million visitors a year, with 4·5 million ...
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NewsElectric buses to replace diesel in Sofia
BULGARIA: The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development and Taiwan International Co-operation and Development Fund’s Green Energy Special Fund are to jointly provide tram and trolleybus operator Sofia Elektrotransport with a €7·35m loan to support the acquisition of electric buses under the first phase of a programme to modernise the ...
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NewsŞanlıurfa trolleybus route inaugurated
TURKEY: The first trolleybus route in Şanlıurfa was ceremonially inaugurated by Mayor Nihat Çiftçi on October 16, with regular passenger services planned for next month. This is the first phase of a planned four-route network totalling 78 km which is being developed under the Trambüs brand. The second stage is ...
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NewsTEX Rail train on test at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport
USA: The first of the Flirt trainsets which Stadler is supplying for the 43 km TEX Rail commuter route linking central Fort Worth with Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport has undergone dynamic testing at the airport. Testing between Dallas Fort Worth Junction and DFW Airport Terminal B station was undertaken with ...
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Metro Report InternationalRiyadh Metro airport extension contract awarded
SAUDI ARABIA: The FAST Consortium which is building Riyadh Metro Line 4 has been awarded a contract to build a two-station extension to serve King Khalid International Airport. This will include a 1·5 km viaduct and two elevated stations with direct access to airport terminals 1/2 and ...
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Metro Report InternationalBentley Systems acquires pedestrian simulation company
LEGION: Bentley Systems has acquired London-based Legion, which develops software to model the interaction of pedestrians with each other and physical obstacles in spaces such as stations, streets, airports and sports arenas. Legion tools can be used with Bentley’s recently-announced OpenBuildings Station Designer software to model station users’ activities and ...
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Metro Report InternationalSiemens Mobility invests in on-demand transport software company
PADAM: Siemens Mobility has made a 'substantial' investment in Padam, which provides white-label software-as-a-service for managing on-demand transport operations. Terms were not disclosed, and Padam will remain an independent and founder-led business. 'The investment in Padam represents our commitment to offering digital solutions that increase access to transportation information ...
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Metro Report InternationalConstruction of Taoyuan’s Green Line officially begins
TAIWAN: Construction of Taoyuan Metro’s Green Line was officially launched with a groundbreaking ceremony for a 9·8 km elevated section of the route in the Bade district on October 15. Mayor Cheng Wen-Tsan said the line would be the first route to be developed by the city’s municipal government, after ...
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Metro Report InternationalAutonomous electric shuttle takes to the road
CANADA: This month Keolis and the City of Candiac launched what they say is the first long-term demonstration of an autonomous electric shuttle on public roads in Canada. ‘We invite all public transit users and anyone who is curious or interested to come and try it now’, said Mayor ...
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Metro Report InternationalMobile phone app to be used for passenger study
USA: A mobile phone app is to be used to provide data for a survey of transport usage in the Minneapolis–St Paul Twin Cities region which being undertaken by the Metropolitan Council in partnership with the Minnesota and Wisconsin departments of transportation Between October 2018 and October 2019, a total ...
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Metro Report InternationalContactless payment guidance published
USA: Cross-industry body the US Payments Forum has published guidance developed by its Transit Contactless Open Payments Working Committee which is designed to assist transport agencies with the implementation of EMV contactless open payments. Transit Contactless Open Payments: Technical Solution for Pay As You Go is the second use case ...
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NewsVirtual view of Birmingham tram extension
UK: Transport for West Midlands has published two computer-generated fly-through videos showing the West Midlands Metro tramway extension to Centenary Square in central Birmingham. The 840 m extension is currently under construction for opening towards the end of 2019. The video clips are taken from a computer simulation used ...
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Metro Report InternationalBoston metro signalling contract awarded
USA: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority has awarded Barletta Heavy Division a $217·7m design-build contract to modernise signalling systems to improve reliability and reduce headways on the Red and Orange metro lines in Boston. Completion is planned for mid-2022, as part of MBTA’s $2bn Red Line/Orange Line infrastructure improvement programme. Digital ...